An American soldier, right, trains Ukrainian troops on Tuesday, April 21, near Yavoriv, Ukraine. Operation Fearless Guardian, a six-month training exercise, involves about 300 members of the American 173rd Airborne and about 900 Ukrainian National Guard troops.

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Photos:Crisis in Ukraine

Residents flee with salvaged belongings during renewed fighting in the Jabunki neighborhood near the airport in Donetsk on Monday, April 13.

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A mortar round sticks out of the ground near a destroyed tank at a former Ukrainian army checkpoint outside Chornukhyne, Ukraine, on Monday, March 2. Russian-backed separatists had recently overran the area.

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An instructor of the Ukrainian volunteer Azov Battalion conducts training exercises in Kiev, Ukraine, on Sunday, March 1.

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A woman makes her way across a bridge destroyed in heavy fighting in Donetsk, Ukraine, on March 1.

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A volunteer gives humanitarian aid to residents of Popasna, Ukraine, on Saturday, February 28.

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A Ukrainian serviceman climbs out of a tank at a checkpoint near Horlivka, Ukraine, on Monday, February 23.

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A member of a Ukrainian military medical unit cries during a ceremony in Artemivsk, Ukraine, on February 23. Four of his comrades were killed near Debaltseve, Ukraine.

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A man holds a Ukrainian flag as he covers a victim of an explosion in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sunday, February 22. The explosion during a peaceful protest left two dead and 15 wounded.

Pro-Russian separatists take position near Uglegorsk, Ukraine, on February 18.

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An army ambulance damaged in recent shelling lies by a road near Svitlodarsk, Ukraine, on Sunday, February 15.

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Ukrainian servicemen play with a soccer ball on a road between Svitlodarsk and Debaltseve on February 15.

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A woman salvages items February 15 from the rubble of a destroyed clinic where she had worked in Opytne, Ukraine.

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People carry a refrigerator through a balcony at an apartment building that was damaged in recent shelling in Svitlodarsk on February 15.

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A recent ceasefire was brokered during marathon talks in Minsk, Belarus. From left, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President François Hollande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko gather before negotiations begin on Wednesday, February 11.

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People stand beside the body of a woman killed during shelling in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on Tuesday, February 10.

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A volunteer gets a medical checkup at a military base for pro-Russian rebels February 10 in Donetsk, Ukraine.

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Ukrainian volunteer fighters and policemen arrest two men in Kiev, Ukraine, on February 9. The men allegedly arrived from Donetsk and were suspected of participating in pro-Russian rebel activities and organizing terrorist attacks in the Ukrainian capital.

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Residents unload humanitarian aid in Debaltseve on Friday, February 6.

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A man rides a bicycle in Vuhlehirsk, Ukraine, on February 6.

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A child waits on a bus to leave Debaltseve on Tuesday, February 3, after increased fighting in the region.

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A man stands next to his car in Donetsk on Sunday, February 1, after it was destroyed by shelling.

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The body of a civilian killed during shelling lies on the ground in Donetsk on Friday, January 30.

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People in Mariupol, Ukraine, pour soil into the grave of a recent shelling victim on Monday, January 26.

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Ukrainian servicemen prepare ammunition at a position on the front line near Mariupol on January 26.

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A man injured during shelling in Mariupol sits in an emergency hospital on January 26.

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A piece of an exploded missile sits lodged in the ground outside an apartment building in the Vostochniy district of Mariupol on Sunday, January 25.

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A resident walks by a burning building in Mariupol on Saturday, January 24.

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A pro-Russian rebel takes cover from shelling in the Kievsky district of Donetsk on Thursday, January 22.

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People in downtown Donetsk react as Ukrainian prisoners of war are handed over by pro-Russian rebels on January 22.

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A trolleybus is damaged in Donetsk's Lenin District after its station was hit by a shell on January 22.

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A rebel takes aim while protecting a supply position in the Kievsky district of Donetsk on January 22.

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Rubble and debris cover the airport in Donetsk on Wednesday, January 21.

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Vladimir Bovrichev cries next to the body of his 4-year-old son, Artiam, during Artiam's funeral on the outskirts of Donetsk on Tuesday, January 20. The boy was killed during a Ukrainian artillery strike.

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Women sit in a shelter during a battle in Donetsk on Sunday, January 18.

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A building hit by Ukrainian artillery is seen in the Voroshilovsky area of Donetsk on January 18.

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Men from the Azov Volunteer Battalion board a bus in Kiev to join the fight against the rebels on Saturday, January 17.

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Rebels sit atop a tank at a checkpoint north of Luhansk, Ukraine, on Wednesday, January 14.

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A Ukrainian soldier looks down from a military truck at the Donetsk airport on Tuesday, January 6. The airport has been the scene of some of the fiercest fighting in eastern Ukraine.

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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko gives a speech as he hands over new military equipment to forces near the city of Ghytomyr, Ukraine, on Monday, January 5.

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A Ukrainian volunteer fighter fires a machine gun at pro-Russian rebels near the village of Pisky, Ukraine, on Saturday, January 3.

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Story highlights

Vladimir Putin says he hopes Russia and Ukraine won't go to war

Polls show 81% of Russians have a negative view toward the U.S.

(CNN)A war with Ukraine would be "apocalyptic" but will probably never happen, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"I believe such (an) apocalyptic scenario is unlikely, and hope that it will never get to that point," he told Russian media Monday.

Putin said he's confident the crisis will stabilize if the Minsk Agreement is implemented.

Photos:The battle for Debaltseve

Photos:The battle for Debaltseve

Ukrainian children sit in a bus before fleeing Debaltseve, in the Donetsk region, on February 3, 2015. Ukraine's military said Wednesday that 80% of Ukrainian armed forces have now pulled out of a strategic railroad hub that's been the focus of bitter fighting with pro-Russian separatists.

An elderly Ukrainian man is helped by a Ukrainian Army soldier and a citizen during a evacuation of civilians in Debaltseve.

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An elderly Ukrainian man stands inside a bus before being evacuated from the region.

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Ukrainian children look through a window of a bus near Artemivsk, eastern Ukraine, on February 5, as people are evacuated.

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Pro-Russian rebels stationed in the eastern Ukrainian city of Gorlivka, Donetsk region, launch missiles from a Grad launch vehicle toward a position of the Ukrainian forces in Debaltseve on February 13. Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko said the ceasefire that was due to go into effect is in "big danger."

Pro-Russian rebels warm themselves by a fire during a break between fighting.

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Pro-Russian rebels leave for a combat mission near Debaltseve.

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Ukrainian servicemen ride on top of an armored personnel carrier on the way from Artemivsk to Debaltseve.

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A gas pipe burns after being struck by shelling in Myronivskyi.

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The accord, between Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany, includes a ceasefire between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists and an agreement for both sides to pull back heavy weapons.

Despite frequent violations of the ceasefire, Putin said there's no need for immediate action beyond the Minsk Agreement, such as more international peace talks or the formal recognition of rebel separatist groups like the People's Republic of Donetsk and the People's Republic of Lugansk.

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"I really hope (the Minsk Agreement) is implemented, and if it is -- it is the right way to normalization of situation in that Ukrainian region," Putin said.

But the chaos on the ground in eastern Ukraine suggests the truce is crumbling. In the past week, shelling has intensified in the city of Donetsk.

And on Friday, Ukraine's National Defense and Security Council reported 300 violations of the ceasefire, which was less than a week old.

Ukraine has said its forces won't back down until attacks from the rebels stop. Pro-Russian separatists have also accused Ukraine of instigating violence.

Putin said there's no chance Crimea -- which was annexed by Russia last year -- will go back in Ukraine.